General James BluntPossibly unique CDV of James G Blunt standing in
front of a painted backdrop in the studio of J.J. Outley, St. Louis. A view I
have not seen before nor have I found another.
In Prewar Kansas during a confrontation with
the pro-slavery territorial government in 1857, Blunt joined a force including
James Lane and abolitionist John Brown.[At the outbreak of the war Blunt was
appointed Lt Col of the 3rd Kansas Infantry, a part of
James Lane’s Kansas Brigade, an irregular partisan force not accepted into the
Union Army until reorganized in April 1862. In April 1862, Blunt was
appointed brigadier general of volunteers and given command of the
Department and Army of Kansas. He ordered Colonel William Weer to lead the
"Indian Expedition" in 1861 which succeeded in occupying Fort Gibson
and arming three regiments of Native Americans. Blunt's forces were defeated in
the first battle of Newtonia, and the Army of Kansas was incorporated into the
Army of the Frontier as the 1st Division. Blunt led his division of
Cherokee and Kansas volunteers to victory at the Battle of Old Fort Wayne.
In December 1862, Blunt's division was joined by the 2nd Division under Francis
Herron. The combined forces met confederates at the Battle of Prairie
Grove. While tactically a draw, the battle was a strategic victory for the
Union. Blunt was appointed major general on March 16, 1863 He was the only
officer from Kansas to achieve that rank during the war.